COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County judge set bond at $1 million each for two men charged with murder in the beating death of a man outside of a Kroger grocery store last month.
Dionta Hughes, 18, and Jamarion Evans-Bennett, 19, appeared before the judge on Wednesday.
The two men and 17-year-old Jayden Agee are accused of killing 53-year-old Donald Smith Jr. on Dec. 6 outside of the Kroger located at 3637 South High St.
According to Columbus police, the three teenagers were involved in an altercation with other individuals inside the store and security asked them to leave the store.
Court documents say the teens waited outside of the store and then assaulted Smith, knocking him to the ground. In court, prosecutors said the suspects continued to beat Smith while he was unconscious.
“Witnesses claim that they said you guys know those guys just assaulted an individual and beat the crap out of him. There was more snickering and laughing at that time,” the Franklin County prosecuting attorney told the judge in court.
Hughes and Evans-Bennett pleaded not guilty.
📱 Download the 10TV News app to receive breaking news alerts
📺 10TV+ is available for free: Stay up to date on what's happening in your community with a 24/7 live stream and on demand content from 10TV — available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.
📧 Subscribe to the Wake Up CBUS newsletter featuring the best stories, personally curated by members of our staff and delivered via email by 6 a.m., Monday through Friday.